purelyballet

has anyone seen any reveiws on Shut up and Dance? And if so, can you share them with us?

I could not agree more wit hockeyfan228 and justdoit, Julie Diana and James Ady were both exceptional in this ballet. I am so glad that I was in town and able to see a few of the performances. I, too, had never seen this ballet before so I was not sure what to expect. But I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The dancing was fabulous and the comedic story line had the entire audience laughing. Matthew Neenan, as Alain, and Alexei Borovik as the widow Simone both did a fabulous job. I also agree that Julie Diana and James Ady as Lise and Colas were absolutely perfect for their roles and Julie's balance on point, during the ribbon dance, was amazing. I have had the privilege of seeing PAB perform many times and I agree with justdoit "everyone in this company seems to perform their hearts out." Thank you PABallet for a truly delightful evening. I can not wait until the next series.

Does anyone know if the casting has been posted for La Fille? I missed the last series but should be in town for this one....and am very excited to see PABallet do this ballet.

GWTW, thank you for your overview on these ballets. I am so sorry that I was uanble to attend, but am excited that I will be in town to see La Fille. If anyone else can shed any light on these past performances, I would love to hear what you thought.

I understand that it was opening night last night for the Nine Sinatra Songs series. Unfortunately I was unable to make it out to Philly, so can anyone fill me in????

Does anyone know if casting has been posted for this series yet?

Amy, I could not agree with you more....PBS could be doing so much more in their coverage of dance and the new talent....

Liebs, thanks for the info. I am anxious to see the ballet now.

I am not familiar with Nine Sinatra Songs so am very excited to see this ballet. In the meantime, can anyone give me some ideas of what to expect? I hear that it features nine different Sinatra songs but are they all pas de deux dances or are their groups dances and solos as well?

Very funny Leigh. This was obviously a typo. I am anxious to see Julie dance Sugar Plum in the upcoming Philly performances. Unfortuantely I was unable to attend any of the performances in Cleveland, but from the reveiw that I read, it sounds as if all went well.

Does anyone know if the casting has been posted for Nutcracker. I went on their site and could not find anything.

I agree with you both. I was so impressed with the PABallet corps during Swan Lake (this past season) that I was anxious to see them in this Balanchine series. I have to say, after seeing many other companies corps dance this year, PABallet's corp has been my favorite. As GWTW said, even though they appear to be on the young side, they are very well rehearsed and totally together. KUDOS to both the dancers and the artistic staff for putting together such a wonderfully talented group of dancers. I can't wait to see these young dancers as they mature over the next few years...it appears we will have many exciting dance performances to look forward to at PABallet.

[PB: I deleted your post above that was just a quote - Alexandra] I think I hit the wrong button on my last reply, but in any event, SoCalGal, I could not agree with you more.....PABallet was fantastic in this series. I can not wait to see their upcoming productions. The rep seems to be very diverse so I think all in all it should be a very enjoyable year for the PABallet patrons.

wow I am impressed with the varied promotions and events that PABallet will be taking part in or hosting during the upcoming Nutcracker season. What a fabulous marketing campaign and excellent way to promote the ballet in general. Great JOB!

I just returned from my trip to Philly where I was fortunate to take in four performances of this Balanchine series (and saw both casts) I have to say this was certainly PABallet at its finest. After seeing Swan Lake at the end of last season, I did not think the company could look any better...but they proved me wrong. They were so amazing in the three pieces. I have to agree with the others Phillip and Julie were both amazing in Slaugther (Julie reminded me so much of Suzanne Farrell in this role and I found myself totally captivated by her) Amy Aldridge was also exceptional in the part. In regards to Agon, I have to say I think this was Arancha at her best...she totally amazed me.....Last but not least, Balo was fabulous and the corps really shined in this piece. .....Thanks PABallet for some of the best dancing I have seen in years. With the latest additions both Zach Hench and Julie Diana it is obvious that PABallet is making it move up the ladder to be noted as one of the finest companies in the country. Kudos to the entire company and artistic staff.

I just got tickets for Wed night, the Thurs night Gala and Saturday Matinee. Can not wait.....

I believe the program is actually Slaughter, Ballo and Agon (not Four T's). But I agree what a wonderful rep. Can't wait to see these three performed by PABallet. I will be attending a few performances so hopefully I will be able to see both casts.

Looks like we are all in agreement. This has been a long time coming and I for one am very pleased with the result. What a fabulous site. Easy to navigate as well as very informative. KUDOS PABallet, on a job well done. I am so excited for your upcoming season. Looks like it will be a fabulous year. See you for the Slaugther Series

charlieloki, I could not agree with you more. Mr. Boal will be missed greatly. And I also agree with you that technique only goes so far. Along with that you need the artistic aspects. In the most recent NYCB performances that I have attended, this seems to be missing. Many of the dancers almost seem bored on stage and are only getting through the steps, not DANCING them. Yes, this corps is young, but I do not go to NYCB to see a group of girls "getting their feet wet" I think their audience is used to seasoned professionals and younger dancers that are trained to get in there and "DANCE". Over the past few years, this seems to have changed. Turnover has a lot to do with it, but why not hire girls that look like the actually love dancing when they are on stage.

We are just talking about the men, but what about the women. I think a few of the great ones will be retiring soon and after seeing two of the NYCB performances in Orange County this past week, I am fearful we may have the same situation here. Maria K, Janie Taylor and Ashley Bouder are stand outs, Teresa Reichlein has promise, but outside of that I was not all that impressed. The corps overall seems very young and needs time to flourish (hopefully time will make a difference)!

I am unable to attend the performance in Pittsburgh this evening, so if anyone can fill us in, I would really appreciate it.

I went to the Wednesday performance and I felt pretty much the same as everyone else. I think the fact that the company just came from Tokyo is possibly the reasoning behind the lack of luster and excitement of the evenings performances. Much of the dancing appeared tentative, as if the dancers were just getting through the steps and not really dancing. Some of the dancers even looked "bored". However, with that said, there were a few standout performances. In Emeralds, Jennifer Ringer did a lovely job as usual. I have never been disappointed with any of her performances that I have seen in the past, but I have to say although she danced nicely, she did seem a bit tired. Ashley Bouder, Megan Fairchild and Arch Higgins danced the pas de trois beautifully. I could not keep my eyes off of Bouder. It is obvious this dancer is going to have a wonderful career. Teresa Reichlin also was also fun to watch in Rubies. She danced the tall girl role and did a marvelous job. The lead couple was Alexandra Ansanelli and Damien Woetzel. Both performed admirably but I felt they came in and out of the role. There were moments that I found Ansanelli to be jazzy and fun and then moments that I felt as if she was someplace else. To me it was very inconsistent. Wendy, as always, was wonderful in Diamonds. Again, I have never been disappointed by this dancer. She always seems to pull through and give an amazing performance no matter what the circumstances are. In my mind, she is the most consistent and artistic dancer around. She did appear to be favoring her one foot, but even with that, she pulled off an amazing performance. I was disappointed with the staging of the ballet, however. At times it appeared to me that the dancers were sloppliy placed on the stage, as if the stage was way too small. It looked messy and confusing. Again many of the corps dancers looked tired and bored at times. I will be going again later this week so I am hoping that this can all be chalked up to opening night jitters and being tired from their long trip from Tokyo.

I wish her much success as well, but she will definitely be missed at PABallet

yes I have that schedule. However, what I am looking for are the exact dates and times for the Balanchine series (Agon, Ballo della Regin and Slaughter) so that I can purchase tickets. I went onto the PABallet site and the Academy of Music site and was unable to find this information on either site. Thanks

Does anyone have any information on when the PABallet 2004-2005 schedule will be posted? I tried to go on line to the Academy of Music and could not find anything about dates of times for upcoming ballets. I also went onto the PABallet site and I was able to pull up a press release on the 2004-2005 season, however, it did not give exact times and dates.